Figure 1

Characterization of HPMCs. (A) Phase contrast pictures of HPMCs (Meso-7 and Meso-9) cultured in 10% FBS (x 100 magnification). Bars 200 μm. (B) Immunofluorescence detection of MOC31 and calretinin in human ovarian cancer cells SKOV3 and HPMCs. The cells were fixed with cold methanol and stained with FITC-conjugated anti-MOC31 and Texas Red-conjugated anti-calretinin (x 1000 magnification). HPMCs stained positive for calretinin and negative for MOC31 confirming that they were mesothelial cells. Bars 30 μm. (C) HPMCs were cultured either with absence of FBS, 10% FBS or 10% malignant ascites (OVC508) and representation phase contrast images were taken (x 200 magnification). Bars 100 μm. (D) The relative expression of TGF-β1 was determined as described in Material & Methods for peritoneal benign fluids (OV370 and OV401) and malignant ascites (OVC346 and OVC508). The solid line indicates the cut-off intensity (750 FU) for a positive signal. *indicate P < 0.001, T-student test.